Ron Knight’s 111 Rules of Being an Author

111. Be willing to take on the impossible challenge, while creating the possible.

110. Having a gift to write stories is not enough to have an author career.

109. Delete the word “Very” from every manuscript.

108. A fulltime author spends their day sitting. Exercising is critical.

107. There is nothing wrong with promoting another author. It shows that you are knowledgeable in your genre.

106. Keep book trailers under a minute and thirty seconds.

105. If a solicitor comes to your door, hand them a bookmark.

104. Updates good…advertising bad.

103. Have a special outfit that puts you in “author mode.”

102. Keep your blogs under 250 words. (I break this rule every week.)

101. There are authors that do market research to find reasons their books are great, and there are authors that do market research to find new opportunities. Be the latter.

100. Never fixate on the career of another author.

99. Are you having a bad day? If so, keep it to yourself. Venting authors are failed authors.

98. Do not write from your heart. Write from your reader’s heart.

97. Literary agents and publishers are not giving you greatness. You are giving them greatness.

96. Master your thirty-second pitch. Those thirty-seconds can land you an influential contact.

95. You need the reader thinking about you, before they will think about buying your books.

94. When introducing yourself to anyone, use your full name, because that is the title of your company.

93. You are the brand. Proceed accordingly.

92. Short burst writing sessions produces quick bursting novels.

91. Never write a post, or blog, stating that you have been away and that you are sorry for not posting something recently. It reminds readers that you have been away and haven’t posted something recently.

90. There is a big gap between you and the all-time bestselling authors in the world. Inside that gap are billions of potential readers for you to go after.

89. Readers do not change. An author’s knowledge of a reader changes.

88. The quality of your redrafts will determine how many books you will sell.

81. Start a support group, club, or association that fills a need for your target audience. Selling books to that group, club, or association will be the easiest sales you’ve ever made.

80. Even readers have gatekeepers. Their gatekeepers are values, goals, passions, and emotions that influence their daily lives. Understanding and relating to those influences is your key to breaking down their gatekeepers.

79. Everyday, do something as an author, even if you only spend ten minutes on your career.

78. Network, rather than ask for help from those in the publishing business.

77. Keys to a great book title are uniqueness, attention grabber, impossible to copy, easy to say, and risky. (Use that same logic for writing your books.)

76. Take out the word “The” in your title.

75. Work on whatever seems important to you at the moment.

74. WatchDVD’s with the subtitles on.

73. Readers do not care if you are doing your best. You have to do their best.

72. Sell ancillary products to go along with your books, such as T-shirts, posters, and small dollar items.

71. Luck should never play a role in your novels, or in your career.

70. Every single time you write a sentence for the world to see, it should relate, interest, and help your target audience, along with having the chance to be forwarded to others. This especially holds true for social media and blogs. No exceptions.

69. Do not just read a book, study it.

68. Patience is good, motivation is better.

67. Actually, forget about patience. Take control of your career!

66. Gaze at books on store shelves. Wisdom will follow.

65. Do not add fluff so you can add word count.

64. Show interest in others, rather than begging for their interest.

63. Place value on every minute of the day.

62. Keep putting yourself in a position to succeed by excelling in everything you do as an author.

61. Authors cannot start a new book, until the first sentence is written.

60. Authors cannot finish a new book, until the last sentence is written.

59. Television is the destroyer of authors.

58. In your stories, every sentence spent on description is another chance to lose your reader.

57. You have to write at least nine novels to understand what it takes to write a great novel.

56. No one becomes a CEO in their first year. No one becomes a successful author in their first year.

55. Everything your write should benefit others.

54. Libraries and bookstores are the best places to hangout.

53. Research your genre and story ideas to the point that no one in the world knows more about it than you.

52. Lack of money is not an excuse to fail as an author.

51. Try not to write paragraphs over seven sentences.

50. Write about things that your reader never heard of before.

49. It only takes one brilliant novel, marketing plan, or idea to become a successful author.

48. Family and friends are kind; agents and publishers are honest.

47. Purchase non-fiction books at garage sales, Goodwill, and in bargain stores. Non-fiction is the gateway to great fiction.

46. One conversation with someone in the publishing industry is equal to reading ten books on the subject.

45. Think of yourself as an entertainer.

44. Do not bang on doors at publishing houses, or literary agencies. Just ring the doorbell and see if anyone answers.